Wheel of Fortune

I give to you a memory in eleventy-one words...

On weekday evenings, my grandparents watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Obvious questions caused them to critique contestants with gently inconsolable superiority whilst the more challenging trivia relegated them to docility.

Only sporting events disrupted this nightly ritual. Then, Grandpa – and often my jokester uncle – raucously rooted for their team whilst Grandma watched television in the bedroom.

On one of those exceptional nights, Grandma inadvertently uttered a legendary line in the annals of Murray history. As my uncle exited the bathroom, Grandma squawked, ‘You shoulda took a P’ at the ignorant Wheel of Fortune contestant. Without missing a beat, my uncle retorted, ‘I just did!’

Happy Birthday, Grandma. I miss you.

Ten

I give to you a memory in eleventy-one words...

I woke at five; the sun shone in the big sky. My destiny lay with a half-packed sedan. I cracked a can of Ensure – care of my grandmother – and eased onto I-94. Billings, Bozeman, Butte buzzed by. There was a sign indicating Custer’s last stand. Poor dumb bastard. I checked the paper map to see my progress. Coeur d’Alene by two. A long and winding road. A pit stop for petrol and vittles. I hit George, Washington at five. The Mitsubishi climbed into the Cascades. Seattle at six. I found my way to Eighth and Olive, inserted a quarter, dialed. ‘Do you know where George Washington is?’


Ten years ago today.